The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.58 percent or 43.22 percent to finish at 7,369.78, while All Shares declined by 0.67 percent or 29.11 points to end at 4,346. The “PSEi retreated…after encountering resistance at 7,431 due to Friday profit-taking on selected blue-chip stocks,” Unicapital Securities equity analyst Christopher San Pedro said in a mobile message. He also said Covid-19 continued to weigh on market sentiment as it kept posing threats to the global economy. Their remarks comes after an eruption of new Covid-19 cases in South Korea, Iran and Chinese hospitals and prisons rekindled concerns about the spread of the virus, which has killed more than 2,200 people. Meanwhile, the Department of Health said there were 41 new suspected cases of Covid-19.

Source: Manila Times February 21, 2020 18:00 UTC